No Need to Be Blue; Get Some Silver

A proven dealmaker raises $200 million in cash.

While I find the medicinal properties of colloidal silver a very interesting topic, Fools don't have to swallow silver to benefit from its long-admired physical properties. There was a media circus recently about a man whose skin turned blue from ingesting toxic levels of the stuff, but I think it's more enjoyable to get green from silver.

Silver Wheaton(NYSE:SLW) has a unique way of turning silver into green, offering miners up-front cash for the right to purchase silver streams at a fixed, low cost. The simple strategy has been a proven winner thus far, leading the clever investors of the Motley Fool CAPS community to praise the stock with our highest-possible five-star rating.

Having inked two silver stream agreements over the past two months, Silver Wheaton is positioning itself for still more deal making. On Tuesday, the company announced that it will issue a new series of warrants to holders of some existing warrants, as an enticement to exercise the existing instruments early. While the deal could lead to the issuance of 31 million shares, nearly 14% of the current share count, the resulting capital could buy a whole lot of silver supply.

All told, between this warrant program and a $100 million increase to the company's revolving debt facility, Silver Wheaton will soon have an extra $236 million at its acquisitive disposal. Given the high cost of bringing new mines into production, plus tight credit conditions, Silver Wheaton should be able to parlay that cash into favorable silver supply agreements.

For a more Foolish perspective, consider that silver stream agreements are themselves like warrants. Warrant holders secure the right to buy Silver Wheaton shares at $20 each over the next five years, and the company uses proceeds to secure the right to purchase silver at a low price (currently below $4 per ounce, plus small adjustments for inflation) over long periods of time.

It's no secret that I'm bullish on the prospects for silver, so whether you choose the iShares Silver Trust(AMEX:SLV) for bullion, a major miner like Pan American Silver(NASDAQ:PAAS), or a future prospect like Silver Standard(NASDAQ:SSRI), I believe all these paths could lead to green pastures. For the sheer simplicity of its business model, though, and the ability to leverage cash into large amounts of cheap silver, Silver Wheaton is my personal pick.